48 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2022 Last year, a popular U.S. restaurant chain launched its next-generation bakerycafé restaurant design in Missouri with the intention of recognizing that today’s consumers have different preferences when it comes to the pace of their experiences. The retailer’s prototype space not only incorporates a dine-in craft bakery experience and a traditional drive-thru option, but also a further lane dedicated to the brand’s signature Rapid Pick Up® service, which involves online pre-ordering and curbside collection. Inside the café, guests also have the option to order either at a traditional register or via a digital kiosk. And if they do come indoors, customers will find an immersive experience that respects social distancing. The chain is in step with a trend toward what IGT trend-spotting partner Foresight Factory describes as offering different product lines to serve different pace preferences. How is this different from players purchasing lottery products? Lotteries also offer consumers choices to accommodate their preferred pace. At retail, players can either buy their lottery products in-lane (where enabled), at the check-out counter, or from a self-service vending machine. In states regulated for iLottery, players can purchase products directly from their computer or mobile device. However, IGT has enhanced the consumer experience a step further and reinvented the lottery journey at retail using a 360-degree, holistic approach. Importantly, this approach accounts for the fact that not everyone is regulated to offer iLottery, but all lotteries can benefit from the enhanced player connection that digital solutions enable. “We looked at the challenge not just from a player’s perspective, but from the perspective of the retailer and lottery operator, too,” said Srini Nedunuri, IGT VP, Global iLottery. Beyond digitizing the retail journey, IGT applied its operator experience and deep cross-functional knowledge to solve the problem that lotteries have wanted to solve for decades. As Nedunuri describes it, “We can enable a full, end-to-end, 360-degree view of the player, recording every lottery transaction whether at retail or online.” IGT calls this Connected Play. Lottery operators can see, for the first time, player-level retail lottery purchases by implementing a program of solutions from IGT. And that’s just the beginning of many benefits to players and operators. GETONTHE PATHTO CONNECTEDPLAY Connected Play is IGT’s vision for helping lotteries deliver new player experiences via engagement with digital touchpoints and refresh lottery’s relevance for new audiences — and it’s available to any lottery whether regulated to offer internet wagering or not.
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